The illness, also called juvenile diabetes, is a disorder of the body's immune system. It develops when the pancreas, whose job it is to produce insulin, fails to function properly. To get insulin, patients must take multiple daily injections or use an insulin pump. Each year, more than 13,000 people in North America are diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

"One hundred percent of the proceeds of this fundraiser will go toward the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, which is working to help find a cure for this lifelong condition," said Brian Farrell of Danbury, Madison's uncle and the organizer of the event.

Living with diabetes has been a big adjustment for the Halas family, which also includes Madison's mother, Laura; her brother, Michael, 8, and her sister Emma, 4. But it has been especially hard for Madison.

"For the past three years, Madison has been wearing a pump that continuously injects insulin into her body," Michael Halas said. "She has to constantly be aware of everything she eats and of her activity level in order to be able to regulate her blood sugar level at any given time."

Madison, a first-grader at St. Joseph School in Danbury, has become very responsible as a result of all the work it takes to maintain her diabetes on a daily basis, her father said. "She has become very self-sufficient with it. She can check her blood sugar level and help determine her carbohydrate intake. She is also now able to program the pump by herself," he said.

"With this event, we feel that we are making a contribution that will make a difference in the lives of everyone who is affected by this disease," he said. "Last year, about 1,500 people attended this fundraiser, which raised $13,000, doubling what we earned the year before."

Halas hopes to double the amount again this year.

Laura Halas said the event is a good way for people to come together to support the cause. "We have people coming from as far away as Fairfield and New Canaan," she said. "This year, we will have more of everything, including a larger food area and more raffle prizes."

"This is a family-oriented event," Farrell said, "that is open to everyone, whether they're affected by diabetes or not."

Madison has already decided on what kind of face she'll paint on her pumpkin, a scary face. She is looking forward to going on the hay ride with her friends and getting her face painted with a spider web.

Once the fundraiser is over, Madison will count the days to Halloween, when she'll trick-or-treat in a '50s girl costume.

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The Halas Farm Market Paint-A-Pumpkin fundraiser is Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. at the market, 28 Pembroke Road. Parking is available at Pembroke Elementary School, where a shuttle will provide rides to and from the farm.